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Races of the Vale
NOTE: All playable races not detailed here remain roughly the same as their official version, with minor changes to Gods and locations if necessary. Playable Races Dwarves Dwarves are a relatively new race, created by the Earth God Ruck Wordsmith as keepers of the world's knowledge. Stout, hardy, and long lived, they excel at recovering the lost knowledge of the Great Old Ones from deep beneath the earth, and storing it in vast libraries. While most dwarves have no real desire to read books, almost all dwarves love to OWN them, coveting books, scrolls, tomes, and any other means of storing knowledge as much as they covet gems (which they can use to buy more books, and build ever more ornate repositories for their many, many tomes). The dwarves, in addition to being excellent stonemasons, are also fantastic bookbinders, creating beautiful tomes inlaid with gold filigree or precious stones. Elves The first life in the Vale was created by Nue, the God of Water. These creatures, whose closest descendants are now called the Sea Elves, were fluid and ever changing. They lived in beautiful, glittering kingdoms of coral, passing freely into the Feywild through the portals that litter the sea floor. None truly know if the Sea Elves originated in the Feywild or in the Vale. In time, the Sea Elves spread onto land, and adapted to it, becoming less fluid, taking on the attributes of the places they settled. The High Elves inhabited the mountains, using magic to build cities into cliffs. The Wood Elves became one with the forests, building cities on vast, walking trees bred for their purposes. Other types of elves exist as well, each adapted to the places they fell in love with and chose to live. All share the blessing of Nue, able to change sex overnight, the final vestige of their fey, oceanic origins. Humans Humans were created with fire in their hearts by the god of flames, Hameph. Unlike many races, Humans cannot see in the dark, but were instead given the gift of fire and light. Like humanity itself, this gift spread throughout the world, but humans are the true masters of fire; as such, the best blacksmiths in the world are humans. Industry and forging come to them as naturally as breathing, as does war. Humanity was made to spread throughout the world, setting it ablaze. On the flip side of that coin, humanity's burning passion manifests itself in constructive and artistic ways; all humans have a bit of dancer, and a bit of trickster, in their souls. Writers, warriors, dancers, thieves, painters; in all things, humanity burns bright. And like all burning things, they don't last long; humans are one of the shortest lived races. Half-Elves Half-Elves have a unique status in the world as the only race that stems from an intermingling of two others. What seems as though it shouldn't be possible becomes possible due to the fluid nature of the elves and the burning passions of humanity, or perhaps through some agreement between Hameph and Nue. Regardless of the reason, half-elves combine the best of both races within themselves. While they lose the fluidity of gender that the Elves enjoy, they gain a fluidity of mind, able to adapt to any circumstance as easily as other races breathe. Mousefolk Orcs The Orcs of the Nentir Vale are a race that were created by no god, but who sprung from the earth itself, a humanoid embodiment of nature. Animalistic and plantlike at once, the orcs are the stewards of the land, and the gatherers of its riches. They are hardy, able to survive blows that would kill other races due to their unique, plant-like biology. They are able to survive in a weak, low intelligence state without food, as long as they have sunlight and water. Prone to fits of animalistic rage, like the quaking land itself, and capable of savage violence, like the beasts of the Vale, Orcs nevertheless tend toward good. Their culture teaches that while there is no shame in violence, and that strength is valuable, harm that is not necessary for survival is against the wishes of the world. The orcs have formed a matriarchal, merit based society, wherein the amount that each orc contributes to their society is rewarded, but none are left hungry. Naturally strong and organized, peaceful but capable of astonishing defense, the Orcs form the backbone of society in the Scar, and some say, the world. Non Playable Races Bullywugs A race of frog like humanoids lives in a swamp in the Scar. They do not allow outsiders into their swamp, and rarely venture outside of it. Warforged The warforged were created during one of the many wars for the Scar itself, for the sole purpose of conquering the Scar for their respective countries. After the Treaty, the warforged gained their freedom; without a land to call their own, they became wanderers, without much of a culture beyond their shared experience in the wars. Many warforged never left the Scar, choosing to stay within the Wall, many even helping to build it. Within the Scar itself, all Warforged currently living rally under the banner of Lord Scarlet, who controls all trade within the Scar under the auspices of The Scarlet Heart Trading Company. The Warforged are the only race to rival humanity at construction using metal, although they are more suited to larger scale projects, rather than weaponry. Goblins Goblins are, on the whole, dangerous, greedy, stupid, and rude. However, there are goblins that peacefully coexist with the people's of the Scar; goblins are not inherently evil. Goblins are simply the most recent civilization to fall in the Scar, which has left their race in a sorry state. Once the rulers of a modest empire in the Scar, their way of life was destroyed by a great plague.This plague targeted any goblin over a certain age, leaving only small children alive to grow up feral. Their cities and knowledge were ransacked during the ensuing wars that led to the erecting of The Wall. The effects of this on the Goblin people are felt to this day. No one knows the Goblins initial origins; some think they may have come to the Vale from another world, following in the wake of Malbane. The Great Old Ones An ancient race that once inhabited the area that would later become the Scar. In actuality, they inhabited the whole of the Vale, but this land was the seat of their power, before it was destroyed by a star that fell to earth. Scholars have spent endless years debating why this happened to the Great Old Ones, and if there was any meaning behind it at all. Depictions of the great old ones in ancient relic vary; some show them as beings of light, others show them with wings, and a few show them with the heads of jackals.